Oh My God!
by Todd's Pet
Summary: Just a little drabble - my theory on how wraith worshippers came by the name...


She was more than just a little bit scared, even though she'd volunteered for this. The hive was weird and unfamiliar to her and every room and corridor looked the same; she knew she'd get lost.

But the women who were already here seemed nice and they all looked happy and relaxed, treating each other as if they were sisters. She comforted herself with that thought as she sneaked a look at the other girls in her group.

She knew them all, vaguely, but had never become friends with any of them. Would hive life make them sisters, she wondered? And would it be through joy or adversity?

Lord, she didn't even know what it was she was supposed to do here! She'd simply volunteered in the heat of the moment and now wondered if there was a reason why most of her fellow villagers had preferred to die than become what was contemptuously referred to as a wraith worshipper.

Her village had been culled by the wraith yesterday as punishment for the elders' refusal to co-operate. Only the young women had been spared, rounded up and given an ultimatum: become worshippers and live on the hive, or die.

And so here she is with the tiny group of seven girls who had preferred to face the unknown than die.

oOo

They were being shown around the hive by two of the elder worshippers. Both of them had kindly faces, a little lined, but only by laughter lines – that must be a good sign, surely, she told herself. In spite of the fact that they looked older than most of the other women she saw wandering around, both women exchanged meaningful glances with several wraith they passed on the tour.

She was young but she wasn't entirely stupid; she knew what those looks meant. Tentatively, she raised her hand to get attention. "Em… excuse me…? She spoke in a quiet, nervous voice. One of the two elder worshippers glanced across the hallway to her, as she asked, "Are we slaves now?"

Both women smiled and the white-haired one replied, "No, we're not slaves; we're here of our own free will."

"But we didn't really volunteer…" she ventured.

One of her group piped up with, "We were given an ultimatum."

"And you chose to live," one of the elders answered sagely, "While the others chose to die. That was free will."

"Besides," her companion added, now smiling broadly, "I'd be willing to bet that, by the time you've been here a week, wild horses could not drag you away."

"I've seen women doing chores," one of the new girls observed.

"And did they look like miserable slaves?"

"Well… no… they seemed happy at their work."

"The drones do the heavy work and we share what's left – our chores are quickly done, leaving us plenty time to keep the wraith happy."

"That's one of our chores?"

The two women smile at each other as if they were sharing a private joke. "Oh, it's not a chore," one of them said.

oOo

"This is the women's private quarters area," one of the elders indicated as they turned into a small maze of side corridors. She noticed a few raised eyebrows and added, "Yes, we each have our own rooms where we can be alone and private – or entertain."

"Entertain?"

"Friends," the red-haired one said, "Both human and wraith."

"Wraith are friends?"

"My dear girl," the white-haired woman said patiently. "You are now a wraith worshipper: you are here to worship wraith. You're not that young and naive, surely?"

Right on cue, a woman's voice drifted from a slightly ajar door to their right. Two or three of the older girls nudged each other and giggled. It was obvious from the sounds what the woman was doing.

"With wraith?" one girl asked, aghast.

"With wraith," the two elders replied, grinning. "Oh, don't look so horrified," one of them added. "It takes a little minor adjustment, but once you get used to it, you'll love it!"

"We will?"

"Satisfaction guaranteed," the red-haired elder laughed merrily and dug her companion in the ribs.

By now no further explanation or reassurance was needed, for it had become blatantly obvious that, far from being in fear for her life, the woman in the room with the wraith was thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Perhaps we should move along now, girls?" the white-haired elder suggested. She leaned closer to her companion and whispered, "No point scaring them half to death on their first day."

Too late, they started to herd the small group of girls down a side corridor – but not before they all heard the female's voice cry out ecstatically, "Oh! My! GOD!"

The red-haired elder smiled wryly as she told the group. "And that, my dear girls, is how we came be called wraith worshippers!"


End file.
